Green Mountain College &
Chelsea Green Speaker Series

Two Vermont organizations with deep roots in the sustainable living movement have joined forces to create the new Green Mountain College-Chelsea Green Speaker Series.

“The challenge of becoming a sustainable society will dominate our next century,” said GMC Provost Dr. William Throop. “Our organizations share more than a name—we also feel a strong sense of responsibility to share our passion and knowledge about green building, organic growing, and renewable energy with students and the wider community.”

Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vt., and Chelsea Green Publishing Company, with editorial offices in White River Jct., Vt., developed the collaboration, which will bring two Chelsea Green authors to GMC each year. Diane Wilson, the first speaker in the series, appeared September 15 in the College’s newly refurbished Ackley Auditorium. Wilson’s address was titled “The Courage to Advocate.”

Wilson’s first book An Unreasonable Woman was required reading for incoming GMC students. It describes her battle against multi-billion dollar corporations that were covering up spills, silencing workers, flouting regulations and dumping toxic waste into the bays near her Texas Gulf Coast hometown.

For more than 20 years, Chelsea Green has been the publishing leader for books on the politics and practice of sustainable living. The publisher is a founding member of the Green Press Initiative and has been printing books on recycled paper since 1985.

“We lead the industry both in terms of content—foundational books on renewable energy, green building, organic agriculture, eco-cuisine, and ethical business—and in terms of environmental practice,” said Margo Baldwin, Chelsea Green president.

Recent Chelsea Green Speakers

April 1, 2009
Riki Ott
Talk Title:
“The Democracy Crisis: Lessons Learned from the Exxon Valdez Disaster"
Book Title:
Not One Drop
A commercial salmon "fisherma'am," Riki Ott (PhD in marine biology) experienced firsthand the devastating effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill—and chose to do something about it. Ott retired from fishing and founded three nonprofit organizations to deal with lingering harm. She lives in Cordova, Alaska.

September 15, 2008
Diane Wilson
Talk Title:
"The Courage to Advocate"
Book Title:
An Unreasonable Woman
An Unreasonable Woman chronicles Wilson's battle against multi-billion dollar corporations that were covering up oil spills, silencing workers, flouting regulations and dumping toxic waste into the bays near her Texas Gulf Coast hometown. She took her case to court, meeting with bribery and death threats along the way, and eventually resorted to civil disobedience and hunger strikes.